Wrexham Are Finding Their Groove
After a solid performance against Leicester, Wrexham should be full of confidence heading into the first "Hollywood Derby" of the season.
The Reds may have only grabbed two points from the last two matches, but that doesn’t show how well they played.
The Wrecap:
Wrexham AFC 1 - 1 Derby County
The Reds extended their undefeated streak to three over the weekend, drawing with Derby County at the Racecourse. Phil fielded the same starting XI as the last league match with one exception: Callum Doyle swapped places with Lewis Brunt and took a seat on the bench after starting the EFL Cup game on Tuesday.
The first half began with a bang: Derby nearly scored in the first ten seconds, and a few minutes later Lewis O’Brien received an early - but lucky - yellow card when he botched his challenge against Ebou Adams, catching none of the ball but all of Adams’ ankles with his spikes. A red card would not have felt like an overreaction to most viewers, but luckily, it was only yellow. That was only the first of three yellow cards in a testy - but goalless - first half.
After the restart, O’Brien made up for his early infraction by finishing off a great pass from Kaboré to give the Reds the lead. Kaboré completed an impressive effort to gain possession, then found Sheaf to assist him with a quick run up the right flank to deliver the cross. This was only moments after Okonkwo was called upon to make two rapid-fire saves to prevent the Rams from charging ahead. But they’d have more chances, and they took full advantage of one twelve minutes later when Ben Brereton Diaz released a screamer of a strike that Okonkwo didn’t have a prayer of saving.
The squads stayed even for the remaining eighteen minutes, but the tail end of the match had plenty of action, including two injury scares to Kaboré and Moore, although Phil mentioned after the game that he didn’t think either was “too bad”. Two key takeaways are that Windass was a little off his game, missing several big chances to go ahead, but Kaboré continued to impress, turning in another Man of the Match-worthy performance.
Read the full report from Wrexham here.
And watch the highlights here or below:
Match Facts:
Starting Lineup:
Okonkwo, Brunt, Cleworth, Hyam, Kabore (Barnett 80’), Dobson, Sheaf (M. James 74’), Longman, O’Brien, Windass (Broadhead 80’), Moore (Smith 93’)
Bench: Burton, Doyle, McClean, Barnett, Thomason, Scarr, M. James, Broadhead, Smith
Goals:
WRX — O’Brien (59’)
DER — Brereton Diaz (72’)
Yellow Cards:
WRX — O’Brien (8’)
DER — Clarke (13’), Adams (36’), Ozoh (85’), Morris (90+1’)
Leicester City 1 - 1 Wrexham AFC
The hope for our match with Leicester, the first since 1982, was to play well. The Premier League regulars were always going to be the favorite, so holding our own against them would have been enough of a balm for Wrexham fans should we lose, which many pundits predicted was a foregone conclusion. Well, the Reds did that and then some.
Phil fielded the same squad for a second-straight league match, and they were met by a Leicester squad that held the vast majority of possession right from the jump (as expected). But Wrexham were solid defensively and were quick on the counter-attack, creating solid chances early on that just lacked the right finish. But the same was true for Leicester, and at 36’ they finally found the goal thanks to a slick move that saw them cut through the Wrexham defense with three quick passes before Jordan James finished it off. It was an impressive team goal, and one could hardly blame the Foxes for the confidence they displayed as they went into the tunnel.
The Reds came out strong and fought hard to start the second half, but by the sixty-minute mark, it was clear some legs needed to be refreshed. Matty James and Nathan Broadhead came on first, followed by McClean and Barnett, and as the clock hit 76’, O’Brien got the ball to Broadhead in close proximity to the goal, where the record signing fired from a tight angle to even the score. He nearly had another as stoppage time began, but his second shot curved wide at the end of its flight. The Reds would create a few more near-goals against a now rattled-looking Leicester side, but ultimately neither club could break the deadlock. The result is a somewhat unexpected point as Wrexham added a fourth game to their undefeated streak. Despite coming on as a sub, Broadhead’s heroics earn him my MotM honors.
The key takeaway should be obvious: Wrexham played very well against one of the best teams in the league, one that is more or less still in Premier League condition. Broadhead continued his push for a starting XI nod, and Kaboré, while not quite as impressive as he was in the last two matches, continues to be a big part of Wrexham’s best efforts - both offensively and defensively.
Read the full report from Wrexham here.
And watch the highlights here or below:
Match Facts:
Starting Lineup:
Okonkwo, Cleworth, Hyam, Brunt, Kaboré (Barnett 73), Dobson, Sheaf (M.James 61), Longman (McClean 73), Windass (Broadhead 61), O’Brien, Moore (Smith 83)
Bench:
Burton, Doyle, Coady, Thomason, Barnett, James, McClean, Broadhead, Smith
Goals:
LEI — James (36’)
WRX — Broadhead (77’)
Yellow Cards:
LEI — Faes (25’), Thomas (34’), Skipp (73’)
WRX — Longman (57’)
Women:
Wrexham AFC 6 - 1 Pontypridd United
The Wrexham returned to the win column in dominant fashion on Sunday, scoring six against Pontypridd Women. After both squads exchanged own goals in the first twenty minutes, Wrexham took off. They grabbed the lead two minutes after surrendering an own goal to the visitors, then struck again just before the break. When the teams returned to the pitch, Mahmood and Iddenden each scored within ten minutes. Mahmood then made it a double in stoppage time in a very strong showing from the Wrexham women. They remain tied with Cardiff City at the top of the table with nine points.
Read the full report from Wrexham here.
And watch the highlights here or below:
Match Facts:
Starting Lineup:
Craven, Lovett, Bartle, Allen, Snape (Burke 79’), Smith (Adams 79’), L. Jones, Snape, Mahmood, Barker (Hughes 66’), Iddenden (Suckley 79’).
Bench:
Ankers, barnett, Burke, Adams, Highes, Suckley
Goals:
WRX — Marshall (OG - 11’), Iddenden (24’, 52’), Barker (45’), Mahmood (48’, 90+3’)
PON — Smith (OG - 22’)
Yellow Cards:
None
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News from the Week:
Fletcher Hangs It Up
Steven Fletcher, who was released at the end of last season in a less-than-mutual decision, announced Monday that he was calling it a career. In an Instagram post, the Scotsman said:
After a lot of thought, I feel the time is right to retire from football. It’s not an easy decision because this game has been my life since I was a boy, but I know in my heart it’s the right moment to close this chapter.
When I look back, I feel nothing but pride and gratitude. From starting out at Hibs to the journeys with Burnley, Wolves, Sunderland, Marseille, Sheffield Wednesday, Stoke, Dundee United and finishing at Wrexham every club has shaped me and given me memories I’ll never forget. I want to thank all the fans who supported me along the way your passion and backing meant the world.
In his twenty-season career, Fletcher scored fifty-three goals in the Premier League, fifty-one in the Scottish Premiership, and forty in the Championship, among many other competitions. He played the most games for his original club, Hibernian, making 189 appearances, later becoming a fixture at Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland - hitting the century mark in both of those clubs as well. In total, he played in 77 games for Wrexham and scored sixteen goals…but it feels like much more.
Fletcher played a key role at Wrexham over the last two seasons, and many felt he should have received the chance to keep the momentum rolling this season. In fact, Fletcher has been spotted in the Racecourse stands multiple times already this season, so it’s always possible the club will involve him in other ways, like they have Ben Tozer and Ben Foster. He certainly deserves it.
Moore and Broadhead Get the Call
Next week is the October international break, and Moore and Broadhead have once again been selected for the Wales squad, who are set to face England and Belgium. The match with England is a friendly, but the Belgium match is a key World Cup qualifier. The two countries are tied in points in Group J, but Belgium has a game in hand and is certainly the favorite to win the group, although both are one point behind surprise leaders North Macedonia. With only two matches left after this match, Cymru need all the points they can get.
The Week Ahead
10/3 vs Birmingham City
US: Paramount+, iFollow. UK: Skysports+
3pm EST / 8:00pm BST
The Reds won’t get much of a break as we head from one dangerous opponent to another. The first of the “Hollywood Derbys” is this Friday as Wrexham welcome Birmingham City back to the Racecourse. Birmingham are just two points ahead of Wrexham, but have scored seven fewer goals. They also rank much lower in FotMob rating than the table suggests: sixteenth, to be exact, and have netted just one win in their last six matches.
City have been fielding a 4-2-3-1 this season, which could work to Wrexham’s advantage in midfield, where we should have the numbers when in possession. Look for both sides to try to overload the lone striker, while Wrexham’s wingbacks should be much more active on the flanks than City’s traditional fullbacks.
Women:
10/5 at Swansea City
US: Paramount+, iFollow. UK: Skysports+
9am EST / 2:00pm BST
The Wrexham women will try to keep the good times rolling as their strong start to the season brings them to Swansea City. The Swans are right behind Wrexham on the table, but we have vastly outscored them by ten goals. That’s mostly due to our performance this past weekend, so let’s hope we can ride that momentum to a key win this Sunday.
Correction: While the date was correct, the original preview for the Birmingham match says Saturday instead of Friday.